Podcast / American Prestige / Sep 16, 2025

A New History of the Americas, With Greg Grandin

The first of a two-part American Prestige series.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

A New History of the Americas, Pt. 2 w/ Greg Grandin | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Danny and Derek once again speak with historianGreg Grandin about his recent book,America, América: A New History of the New World. In this second part of the conversation, they follow US–Latin American relations from the American Civil War through the present. The discussion covers the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the contradictions of U.S. expansion cloaked in the language of human rights, the Mexican Revolution as a defining challenge to US power, Woodrow Wilson’s and FDR’s occupations and the Good Neighbor Policy, the Cold War, the neoliberal turn, the endurance of social movements in the face of American-backed violence, and why contemporary Latin American politics still display revolutionary undercurrents.

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Greg Grandin on “Democracy Now!”

Greg Grandin on Democracy Now!

(Democracy Now!)

Danny and Derek welcome back historian Greg Grandin to talk about his recent book, America, América: A New History of the New World. In this first part of the discussion, they explore how the Spanish conquest produced unprecedented violence while also sparking debates about human rights, the role of Bartolomé de las Casas and the Salamanca School, how English settlers dealt with their own brutality, and the emergence of social democracy in Latin America. They also discuss the Monroe Doctrine, the Panama Congress, and the Mexican-American War as early flash points in US–Latin American relations.

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The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Israel’s War Consensus and Permanent Conflict w/ Udi Greenberg | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Danny and Derek welcome back to the show historian Udi Greenberg to talk about Israeli public opinion, politics, and its strategy vis-à-vis the war with Iran. They discuss the overwhelming public support for military operations, the underlying strategic consensus across Israeli politics prioritizing military dominance over negotiation, the absence of meaningful debate over a two-state solution or Palestinian sovereignty, the stability of Israeli domestic political divisions despite the war, how media and military messaging shapes public perception, and the relationship between Israeli strategy and continued U.S. support.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for our series Marx Prestige, coming March 31.

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Daniel Bessner

Daniel Bessner is an historian of US foreign relations, and cohost of American Prestige, a podcast on international affairs.

Derek Davison

Derek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.

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